Arizona Diamondbacks name Kevin Towers general manager

by Nick Piecoro - Sept. 22, 2010 08:10 PMThe Arizona Republic

Asked to revisit some of his favorite trades during his time with the Padres, new Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers mentioned the deal that netted All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and the Kevin Brown deal, which he says might have saved baseball in San Diego.

"Sean Mulligan for two treadmills and $75,000," he recalled for reporters shortly after his introductory press conference at Chase Field on Wednesday afternoon. "We didn't have any money for a weight room back there and ownership wasn't going to give me any money."

So Towers flipped Mulligan, a minor-league catcher, to Cleveland for some equipment and a little scratch.

"Sometimes you have to be a little creative," he said. "Just get the job done."

The Diamondbacks are banking on him doing just that. They gave him a two-year deal that includes a pair of two-year club options, choosing him over interim general manager Jerry Dipoto, who appears likely to depart the organization.

Towers immediately went to work on evaluating the organization, including meeting for nearly two hours with interim manager Kirk Gibson, whom Towers seemed to intimate would be back next year.

Towers interviewed for the same position five years ago before the Diamondbacks gave the job to Josh Byrnes, whom they fired in July only three years into an eight-year extension.

"Occasionally in life, one gets a do-over," Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick said. "In the case of Kevin, we're getting a do-over."

This season, he served as a special assignment scout for the New York Yankees, but Towers was a hot GM commodity after spending the previous 14 years running the San Diego Padres, winning four division titles on modest budgets, building lights-out bullpens and earning a reputation as a savvy deal-maker.

"We have the confidence in Kevin - his track record, his success, mid-size market success, the fact that he can create and build a roster, in my opinion, arguably better than anyone," Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said.

Towers was fired a year ago by Padres owner Jeff Moorad, who as CEO here five years ago chose Byrnes over Towers.

Moorad cited a desire for a stronger scouting and player development base. The Padres did not draft or develop players well during Towers' tenure, a concern Hall said the club "dug deep" on during the interview process.

Hall said Towers cited financial limitations in signing players and a directive from San Diego ownership to "focus solely on the major-league team."

"He's committed to bringing in a very strong Number 2 to likely oversee scouting and player development," Hall said. "That's going to be a big hire or promotion, depending on where we go."

Towers called a revamping of the bullpen and the bench his top priorities; considers the club's record strikeout total "somewhat alarming" and something he wants to cut back; and said he believes the team's strengths to be up the middle and in right field, where he has a "potential star" in Justin Upton.

Hall and Kendrick spoke glowingly of Dipoto - whose lack of experience was his disadvantage compared to Towers, Hall said - and Towers said he plans to speak with him about possibly returning to the organization. Sources close to Dipoto do not expect him to return.